Surf’s up for Stand Up Paddle Boarding

By Christina Cioci

Stand Up Paddling, or S.U.P., has been around for many years. Recently, it has gained popularity as a fun sport for more reasons than one. It can be done on any large body of water including rivers, lakes, or shallow areas with a depth of at least a foot, making this growing sport an accessible activity to people in most areas of the world! It’s not only relaxing and fun, it is also a great work out. S.U.P allows the paddler to see different depths of the water, marine life on all sides of them and to enjoy the scenery and nature around.  Not just for celebrities or vacationers in exotic places, it is now offered here in Connecticut. (See our list of local places below.) Getting close to nature and not using fossil fuels while you're at it. What could be greener than that?

Stand up paddling originated in the Hawaiian Islands. SUPglobal explains in the history of this sport that “Stand up paddle surfing is derived from its Polynesian roots.” The Hawaiian translation is Ku Hoe He'e Nalu, which means to stand, to paddle, or to surf a wave. In 1960, the beach boys of Waikiki would stand on their boards and paddle out in the ocean to take pictures of the tourists learning to surf. They found this was a good way to catch all the moments on camera and a safer way to protect the film. From this came the other common name for SUP: beach boy paddling.